This invention relates to adhesive labels, and more particularly relates to a printer and related software application for allowing the shape of an adhesive label to be selectively chosen and cut.
Printing on labels has become very common in recent years as computers with databases of information that are convenient to print onto stickers have become more prevalent. Many people print labels for such things as address labels for holiday cards, or name badges for gatherings such as conventions, or labels for file folders or to print labels for CD's and DVD's as well as the jewel cases for these CD's and DVD's.
Most printers today can print on special label paper. However, the dimensions of the pre-cut labels have to be entered into the software to assure that the printing is done within the borders of each label. This often requires trial and error as the user learns where the printer thinks the borders of each label are, often resulting in wasting expensive label paper, ink, and time. And if a different size label is needed, the person must purchase additional pre-cut label paper even as the existing paper goes unused.
Certain companies sell pre-cut labels in hundreds of precut label shapes, sizes, and media. In addition to this large proliferation of precut label templates, they also provide software that helps consumers to align their text, clipart, graphics, etc. onto their label templates. Microsoft Word incorporates some of these templates to help a user to get the printing to fit the template correctly.
The pre-cut labels may not necessarily suit all purposes, however, and a user may envision alternate sizes and shapes for a particular application, however such alternate sizes and shapes may not be available. The only alternative for such a user is to hopefully find a pre-cut label that is big enough to be cut with scissors into the desired shape after it has been printed upon. The resulting label, however, may not look professionally made, and would be extremely difficult to replicate.